Matt vs the world
by shan14
Summary: Matt faces his toughest negotiation yet... Fluffy later on.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I know i haven't finished Camp Negotiations but i really wanted to get this story up to see how you like it. It is not the next story in my series, but you can kind of think about it as what might be in the future of my series ( if tat makes sense) other than that it's just a one-shot. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Standoff and anything affiliated with it belong to Fox. I own Taj, Alice, Kian and Sally...**

"I know it's not fair what she did to you Taj but I think you really need to think this through okay. Is taking Sally really the best way to get what you want" asked Matt.

"Yes, Alice hurt me and now she needs to pay for it"

"I see" answered Matt, slightly scared the boy's strong words.

"But don't you think it would be easier to just let Sally go. None of this is her fault. She wasn't the one who hurt you, Alice was"

"I know" replied Taj quickly. "But if I hurt Alice I'll get in even more trouble than I am now"

"Yes" agreed Matt "You probably will, but your still going to get in trouble for taking Sally if you don't let us have her"

"Why should I give her back then if I'm going to get in trouble either way?" asked Taj.

"Why?" repeated Matt "Because if you hand her over now you won't get in as much trouble. Isn't that best. All you have to do is step towards me and hand Sally to me then we'll be able to figure this out so that you get in the least amount of trouble"

Matt looked him in the eyes. He could see the uncertainty on Taj's face. A few more seconds and he would have him convinced. "Now, just step towards me and give me Sally and this will all be over" he said calmly. Taj took a step towards him still holding Sally tight to his chest.

"That's it, just a few more steps and you won't be in as much trouble" continued Matt. Suddenly Taj jerked back.

"But I don't want to get in any trouble daddy" complained the five year old.

"Arghh" said Matt, falling back onto the lounge. "I give up" he muttered.

"Taj just give your sister back her doll" he pleaded.

"But dad" complained Taj, again "She hit me first"

"Is that true Alice?" asked Matt turning towards the 3 and a half year old at his side. Alice looked up at her father, then her brother, then back up to her father. When she couldn't think of a good enough comeback she stuck out her bottom lip and hung her head slightly.

"But Daddy" sniffle "Taj stole my dolly" she stuttered in-between tears.

She climbed up onto Matt's lap and threw her arms around his neck. "I didn't mean to hurt Taj"

"Yes you did" cried the boy in question.

"Nah" Alice yelled back, tears long since forgotten.

"That's it you two" said Matt "Now listen to me. You have to stop…"

His sentence was interrupted by the door swinging open "Mummy" yelled Alice running up to fling her arms around Emily.

"What's going on?" she asked, noticing Matt's pained expression.

"Taj stole my dolly" informed Alice.

"Did he now. Well I think he should give back Sally if he want's to be allowed down stairs when everyone's over tonight"

"Okay" agreed Taj quickly. "I'm sorry that I stole Sally from you Alice" he said handing his little sister back her doll.

"That's okay" she said before running off.

"Hey, wait up" called Matt. "What do you say"

"Oh, I'm sorry I hit you Taj"

"That's okay" yelled Taj before running out the door to play.

Emily looked at the space where the two children had been moments ago. She fell down onto the lounge next to Matt. "So what happened here?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing" he replied sarcastically. "I just spent ten minutes trying to negotiate between those two and you stop them fighting in like three seconds"

"You want to know how?" asked Emily, smiling at her partner. "Don't negotiate, Blackmail. Trust me it works a charm"

"Well I'll remember that for next time" said Matt.

"Come on, we have to get ready. Everyone will be here soon and we haven't even started cleaning up the house"

"Do we have to clean" complained Matt.

Emily turned around on the stairs to glare at him.

"Right, I'm sorry, that was a stupid question" he conceded, sticking up his hand's in defence. Emily just smiled at him. It was hard eough to stay mad at him when she was really angry, let alone when she was in a good mood.

"Come on Cowboy" she said pulling him up the stairs, "time to get the kids ready"

"Cowboy? Who the hell is Cowboy" he asked.

"Never mind" laughed Emily, shaking her head.

"I'll show you cowboy" muttered Matt, picking Emily up and kissing her hard.

"Matt" she whispered inbetween kisses. "Everyone will be here soon"

"No they won't" he replied.

"Ah, yes they will" she said pushing him away gently.

"Fine" he huffed. He walked into the kids room where Taj, Alice and their youngest child Kian where watching The Wiggles.

"Okay monsters" he called "Bath time"

"No" yelled Alice and Taj, scrambling from where they were sitting to run away. Matt stretched out his arms and caught them both, before picking them up and carrying them into the bath room.

"But Daddy, The Wiggles is on" said Alice.

"Sorry, but The Wiggles will just have to wait" answered Matt.

"You can watch the rest after you've had a bath, okay" said Emily following them into the bathroom and carrying Kian on her hip.

"Now, Bath" instructed Matt, pointing between the two kids and teh object in question. Suddenly Taj had a bright idea. He turned towards Matt grinning.

"Can we negotiate about bath time?" he asked sweetly. Emily started laughing at the pained look on Matt's face, causing him to look up at her pleadingly. When she offered no help he slumped down against teh bath tub and let out a groan. It was going to be a long night...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Argh this was originally supposed to be a one-shot but i had so many people ask for more that i just couldn't resist. So now here is the next part in my story which could quite possibly turn out to be very long. Hope you like it. P/S I will update Came back to show you i was here soon. i promise.**

Emily stepped back and admired her work. While Matt had been entertaining the kids in the bath she had set about cleaning before everyone arrived to celebrate Matt's birthday. He had tried to convince her that it was no big deal but she and the kids had insisted and after a week of negotiating he had finally consented to a barbeque birthday bash at their house. Frank, Aileen and their three kids where coming, Cheryl and Mike, Duff and Lia and even Matt's brother, who he had started speaking to a while ago, and his wife and kid where joining in the party. Emily looked over the room one last time. It wasn't sparkling but it was as clean as a house with three young children would ever be and for that she was happy. She ran quickly up the stairs to make sure Matt and the children where still in one piece. What she saw on the other side of the door though made her think twice about ever letting Matt run bath time again. Taj, Alice and Kian where all sitting innocently in the bath tub, Kian even had his small arms in the air so that Emily would pick him up, Matt on the other hand was soaked head to toe in water and bubbles. He slowly looked up at Emily trying to anticipate her reaction. He winced as he saw her glare at him before turning her head towards the three children in the bath tub.

"Anyone want to explain what happened to daddy?" asked an unimpressed Emily.

Alice looked up at her mother, before stating the obvious.

"He got wet" she answered, punctuating each word carefully.

"I can see that" responded Emily "And if we had time I'd ask how but everyone will be here soon so you two" she said pointing to Taj and Alice "better get out of the bath and get dressed, while daddy gets Kian dressed. Okay?" she challenged.

The kids nodded quickly in response before jumping out of the bath and running into their rooms

"Now you" she said turning back to Matt. "If you haven't gotten him dressed by the time I come back in there will be hell to pay"

"Okay" gulped Matt. It was never a good idea to get Emily angry but some how he had a knack for doing it at the worst of times. He decided against asking her if he could have a shower so instead picked Kian up in his towel and sped out of the room, avoiding Emily's glares in the process.

10 minutes later Frank, Aileen and their three kids Catiline, Tommy and Nathan walked up the stairs towards Matt and Emily's house.

Frank knocked lightly on the door resulting in the sound of little feet skidding to a holt from inside the house.

"I'll get it" yelled Alice. She reached up to turn the knob but she was to short to reach. "I'll do it" said Taj, shaking his head at his sister's height.

"But I want to do it" she protested before running over to grab a chair. She dragged it over the floor boards which resulted in a squeak loud enough to alert Emily to what was going on. She ran into the hallway to find Alice and Taj in each other faces arguing about who would open the door. The chair in question was next to Alice and Emily winced as she noticed the scuff marks caused by its movement.

She walked towards the door and pushed the two children away from each other lightly. She was so past words at this point that she just looked at them both. She could tell by the solemn looks on their faces that the message had been received loud and clear.

"Sorry" whispered Taj. Alice just stared up at her mother in awe at her powers without words.

Another knock at the door brought the three back to the present and Emily jumped forward to open the door offering a bright smile to the people onto the other side.

"Hey there Emily" greeted Frank cheerfully grinning at her and her tired expression.

"Come in guys" she said to the others, choosing wisely to ignore Frank's teasing.

The five kids ran past them into the backyard yelling and chatting the whole way.

"So where's the birthday boy?" asked frank, sitting down at the bench next to Aileen.

"Upstairs having a shower" replied Emily moving into the kitchen to grab some drinks.

"You don't want to know" she added, noting the confused look on Frank's face.

Within the next 10 minutes the rest of the team arrived, Duff with Lia and Cheryl with her husband Mike. Emily led them outside and the group sat down to chat while Aileen and Emily kept one eye on the kids. Play time with the Roger's and the Flannery's always ended in tears or injuries or in some instances both and Emily and Aileen where trying to avoid another trip to the emergency room.

A few minutes into the conversation Alice came over to Emily, tears streaming down her face.

"Taj isn't being fair" she stuttered in between sobs.

"Go talk to your father" muttered Emily who was deep in conversation with Aileen, Cheryl and Lia.

"But he's not here" she protested loudly. So loud in fact that the others turned to look at her and Emily noticed for the first time the lack of her partner at the table.

"No he's not" Emily muttered, absently looking around. "Okay" she said, snapping back to attention and pulling Alice up onto her lap "Why don't you stay here until Taj calms down" she suggested.

"Okay" sniffled Alice.

"Where is Matt?" asked Duff.

"Well he had to have a shower" answered Emily, causing Alice to start giggling.

"What's so funny?" asked Lia.

"Daddy got in trouble off mummy" sang Alice, giggling some more.

Emily just rolled her eyes at the memory. "I sent Matt up to bath the kids while I cleaned up this afternoon but when I went back up to help him he was covered in water and bubbles" She explained.

"So you got angry at him?" asked Lia, trying to hold in a giggle.

"Well this was 10 minutes before you all arrived" defended Emily "though I might have been a bit harsh on him" she relented. "He's probably just getting Kian dressed"

Mean while, the man in question stood with the baby in question while he tried to get him dressed quickly.

"There we go" he muttered as he finally dressed the squirming baby

"Ready to go see everyone?" he asked bouncing the boy up onto his lap. He looked down at Kian's serious face "me neither" he agreed.

"Why?" he asked, pretending to hold a conversation with Kian "Well can you keep a secret?" He leant in close to whisper to Kian, which caused him to giggle in delight.

"See this" he asked opening a small box. "I'm going to give that to mummy" he said pointing to the ring inside. Kian chatted away excitedly, waving his hands towards the sparkly thing in the box.

"Now you're probably thinking its not very scary giving someone something, especially mummy, but I also have to ask her a question. And if she doesn't say yes, well, I really don't think I could live with that" he admitted. He grabbed one of Kian's flying fists and kissed it lightly.

"Come on" he said picking up Kian and carrying him out of the room

"I'll make you a deal. If you can survive the night with Aunty Lia and Aunty Cheryl bouncing you up and down and squeezing you're cheeks I'll work up the courage to ask mummy. Okay?" Kian replied with a jumble of baby talk. Matt nodded in understanding.

"Deal" he agreed, shaking the baby's hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N New chapter. I borrowed the name Bow Wow from Stephen Kings Nightmare's and Dreamscapes: The end of the whole mess. Ron Livingston starred in it and that was what his little brother called him in the movie. It kind off stuck so I decided to add it in.**

**Disclaimer: Standoff belongs to Fox. The nickname Bow Wow belongs to Stephen King. I am merely borrowing them to fill in the story. Without them it would just be a whole lot of and's and the's.**

Matt walked out into the backyard, Kian on his hip, to join the group sitting around the table.

"The birthday boy's here" exclaimed Cheryl as he stepped out onto the veranda.

"Hey" greeted Matt, smiling at the birthday wishes from everyone. He sat Kian down on veranda just in time before he was hit with a bombardment of kids yelling Happy Birthday at the top of there lungs.

"Hey there guys" he said, trying to balance Nathan and Alice in his arms without falling over.

"Why don't we let uncle Matt sit down" advised Aileen.

"Thanks" sighed Matt as he sat down next to Emily. He slung an arm around her shoulder and she turned to sit closer to his chest.

"So have you had a good birthday so far?" asked Lia.

"Yeah, it's been pretty good" nodded Matt "Apart from the little negotiation I had to handle this morning and then the soak in the bath"

"What negotiation?" asked Cheryl. She hadn't been called out to any negotiation.

"Alice and Taj were fighting" explained Matt, laughing.

"And Matt tried to negotiate with Taj to give Sally back to Alice" explained Emily further.

"Well that shouldn't have been to hard" noted Lia.

"Oh, you have no idea what it's like negotiating with kids" said Matt, shaking his head "It's like talking to a brick wall. You speak the words but nothing gets through"

"It's not that hard" laughed Emily, smiling at her partners dramatics.

"That's because they like you, they actually listen to what you say"

"Oh, and they don't like you. I had to pry Alice away from you when you left for work the other day" said Emily, hitting Matt in the chest. He grinned at her before leaning in for a quick kiss. There moment was quickly interrupted by the group of little children who had taken their fathers arrival as a sign that dinner was fast approaching.

"Daddy is dinner ready?" asked Taj, hanging off Matt's arm. He gave Emily an exasperated look.

"Well, how about you all come and help me carry the meat out and then we can get the barbeque started" he suggested, leading the clan out into the kitchen, closely followed by Frank and Duff.

The ringing of the door bell a few minutes later broke Emily out of her discussion with Lia and Cheryl. She walked through the house, amazed that the kids had managed to destroy it in the small amount of time since she had cleaned. Just as she was about to open the door she noticed a small box laying on the coffee table in the front room. 'I cleaned in there before' she noted with curiosity. As far as she knew the kids hadn't gotten to that room yet. As she got closer she made out the velvet of a jewellery box and smiled slightly. Frank and Duff had been discussing what to give Matt for his birthday last week at the office. Throughout the day she had heard idea's ranging from pranks to god knows what else and it would be just like them to get him something and put it in a jewellery box, just to annoy Matt. She opened it up, to sneak a peek, but what she saw made her stop instantly. Inside was an engagement ring. She stared at it for a few seconds before the ringing off the doorbell made her remember why she was there in the first place. She quickly closed the box and placed it back on the table, trying to hide the smile that was quickly worming its way onto her face. 'Stop it' she thought 'it might not even be for you'. "Yeah right' she countered. Duff and Lia hadn't been going out long enough to be thinking about marriage and the rest of the group were already married.

"Sorry" she apologised as she opened the door.

"What are you grinning about" asked Matt's younger brother Jacob as he leant in to hug her.

"Oh, nothing" she smiled back. Jacob gave her a knowing smile before stepping inside the house. He and his wife Jaclyn lived in San Francisco and while he and Matt had rekindled there relationship they still found it hard to find time to see each other. Most of the time they would just call to catch up and left Emily and Jaclyn to plan visits. It was starting to worry Emily that Matt and Jacob were so alike, but she had to admit they were extremely funny to watch.

Jaclyn carried Alexander, the couple's one year old son, into the house, chatting o Emily about what had been happening lately. Alexander and Kian had been born a few weeks apart and already the cousins were inseparable.

"Alex has been excited all day" gushed Jaclyn, tickling the boys feet. "He's missed Kian and the kids, so much. All day long he's been asking about Kan, because he can't say Kian yet"

"Well, I think he'll be happy to have someone to play with. He's a bit out numbered with all the other kids being older" said Emily.

Jacob walked out onto the veranda were the team was sitting. He turned to see Matt turned away from him at the barbeque. A small smile spread across his face. 'The joys of brothers' he thought to himself.

"Happy Birthday Bow Wow?" he sang, walking up behind Matt.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N second last chapter. I'm putting the rating up on to K+ mainly for swearing….It couldn't be helped with Matt and his brother together. LOL hope you like.**

Matt froze. Why did his brother insist on torturing him he wondered briefly? He spun around to face the grinning man behind him.

"Do you have to call me that?" he asked though he already knew the answer. Jacob had been calling him Bow wow before he could even walk, and unfortunately the name had stuck.

"Ah, you know you love it" grinned Jacob "Like I told you, I only reserve it for birthdays and Christmas and guess what?" he asked sarcastically.

"What?" responded Matt dryly.

"It's your birthday!" sang Jacob, clapping Matt on the shoulders.

"Come here you idiot" smiled Matt, pulling Jacob in for a hug.

Emily walked through the door, deep in conversation with Jaclyn, to find the two of them mid wrestle. "Sometimes I wonder who the kids are in the family" muttered Emily, sharing a look with Jaclyn.

"Oh, don't even start" said Jaclyn "Ever since Alex was born it's been like going from no children to two"

"Just be glad you don't have three" laughed Emily sitting down at the table.

"Are they always like this?" asked Cheryl.

"Pretty much" nodded Emily turning to watch the men. Their wrestling match had quickly turned into a game of tag, with the kids taking teams with either of the brothers. Jacob had Taj, Tommy and Nathan. Matt had some how ended up with Alice and Catiline, both of which were slightly annoyed at the prospect of a game of tip against the boys.

"Okay, now all you have to do is try and tip one of the boys" he told the girls as they huddle around him.

"I don't want to play" complained Catiline "Thomas is mean whenever we do"

"It'll only be for a few minutes" he tried to reason but she had already lost interest and ran off to find her mother. 'Great thought' Matt, he was up against his little brother and four wired up boys, and all he had was three year old.

"I'm here daddy" said Alice, climbing up onto her fathers lap. "I run really fast" she told him excitedly.

"I know you do sweetie but I think if we want to win were going to need some back up, don't you"

"Yep" she nodded, pigtails bouncing on either side of her head.

"You have know idea what back up is, do you?" asked Matt.  
"No" nodded Alice, sending him a grin. Matt smiled back at her before facing the group of adults siting at the table in front of him.

"Frank, Duff" he called "get yourselves out here now!"

"Nu ah, man. Not happening" replied Duff.

"Come on" complained Matt.

"Nope" called Frank, shaking his head defiantly.

"Fine then" muttered Matt. "Okay Ally, I need you to do a favour for me" he said, leaning in to whisper to her.

Meanwhile, Frank and Duff where in a very meaningful discussion, about the finer points of paintball, with Jaclyn.

"Incoming" called Mike, pointing to the little brown haired girl running excitedly towards the men. She stopped next to Frank, turning towards Matt.

"Do I ask them now daddy?" she called.

"Yeah, hunny" replied Matt.

"Uncle Frank, can you pretty please play tag with me?" she asked sweetly. "Pretty please with sugar on top?"

Frank looked down at the pouting three year old in front of him. He looked back up at Matt. "That's just sad Flannery" he called, "Sending you're three year old to do your dirty work"

"Hey, would you rather I start begging" called back Matt.

"No, no. Alice is fine" he turned back to the little girl in front of him. 'Damn it' he thought. "Of course I'll play, sweetie" he smiled.

"Thankyou" she squealed, throwing her arms around him in a quick hug.

"Your going to pay for this" he told Matt, who just smiled in thanks in return.

"You guys ready or do you need someone else to play for you Matt" called Jacob.

"Hey if I remember correctly last time we played tag I smashed you" called back Matt.

"Oh" called Jaclyn and Emily from the sidelines, getting Matt and Jacob riled up was one of there favourite past times.

"Well if I remember correctly we were 8 and 12 at the time so really man if your still holding onto that it's kind of sad" replied Jacob.

"You just don't want to admit that I beat you, again" baited Matt.

"That's not true. You didn't beat me at everything" called back Jacob.

"What ever you say man" replied Matt before tagging him and running. "You're it" he called, leaving Jacob in the dirt.

"Damn" he muttered before taking off after his brother.

An hour later the families sat around the table. The adults were chatting while the children munched away happily at there sausage sandwich. Matt and Jacob had disappeared upstairs after being told off by Jaclyn and Emily for traipsing dirt through the house.

"It's not my fault he tackled me in the dirt" Jacob had complained. Matt had only grinned at the memory.

"You know I'd forgotten how much fun it was beating you at tag" he told Jacob sentimentally.

"Oh shut up" his brother had muttered in response prompting a laugh form Matt.

"There never going to grow up, are they" sighed Jaclyn.

"Nope" agreed Emily though secretly she liked seeing Matt so at ease with his brother. She'd never seen him as relaxed as he was right now.

"I can't do this" said a stressed Matt, collapsing onto the bed.

"Can't do what?" asked Jacob, sitting down in the chair nearby

"I can't ask Emily to marry me" he sighed.

"Wait, your actually going to do it, way to go man" cheered Jacob "I mean it's about time"

"Didn't you just hear a word I said? I don't know how to. That's the problem" complained Matt because if he was being honest with himself he had absolutely no idea how to go about that type of thing.

"It's not that hard. How did you ask her out?" prompted Jacob.

"I didn't" replied Matt flatly "It just kind of happened one night when we were on a case. I mean we slept together for three months before anyone else found out or we went on a date"

"That does make life hard" agreed Jacob.

"I mean I know I want to, I just don't know if she does" explained Matt.

"What?" asked Jacob, clearly confused "Matt, the poor woman's put up with you for the last 6 years, you have three children together and she still is willing to get up every morning and spend the whole day with you? What more do you need?"

"I know all that, it's just she's never brought it up before. If she really wanted it wouldn't she have hinted to it by now" asked Matt.

"Mate, women don't think like us" stated Jacob mater of factly "If we want something we let them know but with them, it's all cryptic, okay. You have to try and figure it out because she isn't going to come out and say it"

"Yeah but how do I know what she means?" asked Matt.

"Well, for starters….just guess" said Jacob.

"That's your words of wisdom" replied Matt sarcastically.

"Hey you've been with Emily longer than I've been with Jaclyn. If any thing you should know more about this than me" defended Jacob. At Matts unconvinced look he continued on. "Look, Emily loves you more than anything in the world. You have three gorgeous children. I highly doubt she's going to say anything but yes so you may as well just ask her. I mean you want it, she wants, hell the others even want it"

"What?" asked Matt.

"Yeah, the first thing Frank said to me all day was whether I'd like to place a bet"

Matt shook his head in wonder. "So who's going to win?" he asked.

"That all depends on when you ask her" prompted Jacob.  
"Obviously who ever had today down" stated Matt.

"Nice" smiled Jacob. He got up out of his chair and clapped Matt on the back.

"I want to be the first to know after you ask her right" nodded Jacob.

"I thought woman were the only ones who did that" teased Matt.

"Hey, I like knowing what's going on" informed Jacob, walking out the door.

"Oh, and I think Cheryl had today down" he added, sticking his head round the door one last time.

"Thanks" nodded Matt, smiling. It was only fitting that Cheryl should win in his opinion.

"Don't be to long" called Jacob from the stairs. "Emily might decide to leave you and travel the world with me if you stay up there all night" he teased.

"Bas" called a grinning Matt from his bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ahhh, i can't believe this is the last chapter! thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. You made my day , many times! lol. Hope you enjoy this last chapter. **

**p.s. any spelling mistakes throughout the story are mine...i don't have a beta but if any one wants ot be...i'm open for suggestions...hint hint.**

Later that night Emily, Matt and the kids stood in the front yard waving goodbye to everyone.

"Bye" yelled Alice, waving her arms around above her head.

"See ya everyone" called Emily

"Thanks for the presents" added in Matt cheekily, earning a swat from his partner. 'Soon to be fiancé if everything goes to plan' he thought excitedly. He and Jacob had discussed possible ways of asking Emily to marry him later that night. They had both agreed that something a little unorthodox was in order; after all they had never exactly played by the rules. The problem had been coming up with an idea. It had taken them a while but after much thought they had settled on an idea that would be less nerve racking for Matt, and hopefully a little funny for Emily as well.

"Call me" whispered Jacob loudly as he got in the car, motioning picking up and dialling a phone to Matt.

"I want to know first" he added in. Matt waved his arm in annoyance at his little brother, could he be any more obvious!

"What's he talking about?" asked Emily curiously, she had hardly forgotten about her discovery earlier that night, in fact it had been on her mind throughout the whole evening. 'Could Jacob's idiocrasy have something to do with it?' she wondered briefly. "Na" she muttered, he was probably talking about a game of golf, or the latest footy game they where going to see.

"Nothing" nodded Matt in response to her earlier question "We were just talking about going to the basketball later on next week" he added for good measure, hoping Emily would drop the subject.

"Oh" she nodded in reply, that was what she had been expecting but her heart still dropped a little. After all the chances of him asking her to marry him now, of all times, where pretty low she reasoned, but it still hurt that he wouldn't. Sometimes she wondered if he didn't really want to but then she would push it to the back of her mind and get on with life, like she was now.

"Come on kids, bed time" she ordered, brushing past Matt quickly. He followed her inside, slightly confused by her change in attitude before following her up the stairs to kiss the kids goodnight.

"Hey, why don't you let me put the kids to bed" asked Matt, taking Kian out of Emily's arms.

"Okay" she agreed looking at him for explanation.  
"What, can't a man be nice to his….um, partner every now and again?" asked Matt, stumbling over his words. 'Idiot' he thought. He hated introducing Emily to people outside of work, partner sounded to formal, but girlfriend didn't seem to fit. After all they had three children and had been together for 6 years.

"I guess" she smiled, noticing the stumble but choosing to ignore it like she did most times.

"Goodnight" she said, bending down to kiss Alice and Taj on the forehead. "Sweet dreams"

"Goodnight mummy" they chorused before scrambling into bed.

"Hey Em" called Matt as she walked out the door.

"Hmm" she responded.

"Don't go to bed" he ordered, before turning back to the kids.

Emily stared at him in wonderment. What could he possibly have planned she thought. Her stomach did a somersault as she thought of the possibilities. 'Maybe he's going to ask me after all' she thought excitedly.

A few minutes later Matt came downstairs to find Emily sitting on the lounge, watching some late night show on television.

"Any good" he asked, motioning to the TV screen.

"Not really" she smiled. She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What?" he smiled, sitting down next to her. She crawled over so that she was lying against his chest. "Did you have a good birthday?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, it was okay" nodded Matt passively.

Emily shrugged in confusion before lying her head back down again. The two watched the last few minutes of the show before Matt switched the TV off. "You know what I feel like" he stated.

"What" asked Emily, trying to stifle a yawn.  
"A game of scrabble" replied Matt.

Emily looked at him tiredly "Matt it's 11 pm" she complained.

"I know but I miss playing with you" he smiled.

"We haven't played since Taj was born" reasoned Emily.

"Exactly why we should have a game now" continued Matt nodding at Emily.

"Hun" she said smiling slightly at him "the reason we don't play anymore is because it always somehow manages to turn into strip scrabble and I really don't want the kids to come down stairs in the middle of a game"

"Well. We won't play strip scrabble" continued Matt.

"Promise" grinned Emily.

"I promise" replied Matt, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"That's not a good start" she warned, though her complaints were muffled against his chest.

"Fine then" laughed Matt "You set up and I'll get a drink"

10 minutes later, Matt and Emily were sitting around the coffee table, a game of non-strip scrabble in front of them. As usual Emily was beating Matt, but for once he didn't care, all he needed was the right opportunity and everything would come together….or at least he hoped it would.

He smiled as Emily put down the word Maze.

"What's wrong she teased "Still annoyed that I'm beating you"

"Would I complain about that" grinned Matt.

"Oh, never" mocked Emily, giggling like a little girl.

"Hey Hun" asked Matt a few seconds later, "Can you get me a drink?"

"Can't you get it yourself?" she asked, after all he was much closer to the kitchen.

"I would, but my legs asleep" he explained sincerely.

Emily sighed dramatically "I guess I can" she relented. "Just be glad it's your birthday" she muttered, shooting him a smile.

"Thanks" he called back.

Emily walked back out of the kitchen, glasses in hand, ready to start her attack against Matt at scrabble. She had been beating him nicely but now it was time to pull out the big guns. She stopped suddenly as she walked into the lounge room to find it empty.

"Where the hell is he" she muttered. She heard toilet flush upstairs and realised he must be in the bathroom.

"he won't no if I sneak a peak" she wondered slightly, placing the glasses down on the table. She quickly sneaked over to the board, peeking down at it quietly. "Oh" she gasped as she read what Matt had placed for hi go. In big, bold scrabble tiles where the letters M.A.R.R.Y.M.E, coming off the M from her Maze. "Marry me" she whispered to herself falling back into the lounge. She laughed quietly. Of all the ways to ask her, only Matt would over a game of scrabble. She looked down at her tiles before taking her turn.

"So, have you had your go?" asked Matt nervously from the doorway.

"That depends on if you mean it?" replied Emily, walking slowly towards him.

"Course I do" he replied, smiling at her. Emily launched herself into his arms, grabbing on tight to his shirt.

"So I guess you'll want this?" whispered Matt, reaching into his pocket. He stopped short, fear flashing over his face as his hand touched cloth.

"Try the dining room table" whispered Emily.

"Huh?" asked Matt.

"Go" she prompted. Matt walked quickly over to the table were sat the engagement ring in its box.

"How, how did you know it was there?" he stuttered.

"I saw it earlier" admitted Emily.

"Oh" said Matt, smiling sheepishly.

"Well Emily Lehman will you marry me?" he asked, bending down on one knee. Some traditions had to be kept no matter what he reasoned.

"Check the scrabble board" whispered Emily, leaning in to kiss him. Matt broke away from the kiss regretfully before turning towards the scrabble board, Emily wrapped her arms around his waist from behind as he read her turn. Off the Y in marry she had placed.

Y. E. S….T.O.O.K Y.O.U L.O.N.G E.N.O.U.G.H.

"It did, didn't it" laughed Matt, spinning around to face her.

"I knew we'd get there eventually" shrugged Emily, leaning in for another kiss.

"So, ah, who won?" asked Matt a moment later, motioning to the scrabble board.

"Definitely me" nodded Emily.

"Nu ah, me" argued Matt affectionately, wrapping his arms around Emily.

"Why do you get to win?" she smiled.

"Cause I got you" he whispered. "Personally I don't think any scrabble prize can beat that"


End file.
